Best overall Wordpress theme(s)/framework to meet these requirements?

10 replies
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WARRIOR BROTHERS....

I intend to create multiple sites with different purposes, and I want to purchase a reliable Wordpress template or three (if necessary) to do so. As a newbie, I need some sage input. Personal opinions are more than welcome, and I hope I am not being too wide open and general with my query.


Among what I intend to create are sites such as:

-Promotional site for my video editing business
-An adventure blog dealing with water related escapes (with affiliate links)
-A blog site dealing with political issues that I may want to eventually upscale into a high traffic forum or community site (if it takes off at some point)
-A site dealing with micro niche health issues
-A somewhat generalized soon to be narrowed down to a more specific niche) site that will encompass health, wealth and happiness subjects (site construction will not begin until I have found my niche)

--I also intend to nurture what works and draws visitors after about 6 months or so, and drop what isn't working in order to spend more time on those sites that do.

--I want to incorporate affiliate links and white hat backlinks whenever possible


---And I want to make sure to the following criteria are met:

MY REQUIREMENTS

-One-time purchase
-Can be used on multiple domains
-Fast loader
-SEO friendly
-Social media/smartphone friendly
-I want to add a forum section to each applicable site that might later be upscaled to become it's own site. I am aware that I may need to purchase my own server and upgrade my hardware to make the transition, and hope that this can be done when the time comes without losing all my forum contributions that have been built up to then when that time comes.

I am not sure what all the solo forum site upgrade entails, and the info I get from an extensive google search seems to be all over the place, from 'cannot be done' to 'it can be done, but will be crazy expensive' to 'can be done without too much pain, and don't let these other posters hard sell you their services by telling you it can't be done without huge investment, or without them personally doing it'

---------------

I read very good things about AVADA and Divi, but the overall design and appearance of said themes have not given me the WOW factor. I really DO like the appearance of a lot of what I see on Themeforest, but I have also read bad things about them. Should I just disregard a Wordpress theme altogether and have one custom built from the beginning, or should I start with a Wordpress template since I haven't yet learned to code anything myself yet?

Any help is greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance for your replies.

<<Merged 2 mostly duplicate posts together. No reason for 2 different threads. Moderator.>>

Brother Warriors;

I don't want to ask a stupidly general, open ended, non-researched question like "What is the best and most versatile Wordpress theme?" I would like it to be known that I have looked into this exhaustively and I am having a hard time deciding on what WP themes to narrow down and select from. I need opinions right now, because that is what will unfreeze my narrowing process.

I have seen advice here to avoid Themeforest and Envato themes due to lack of support ( I am a newbie, but intend to learn HTML at some point). I would certainly consider paying a lifetime membership for the right theme/set of themes, but I would like to avoid yearly renewal payments if I can possibly avoid it. I read great things about the Genesis framework but the designs I see in the demo do not really grab and excite me.

I am starting several narrow niche sites in several different formats (blog, medical issues, travel, political discussion, video editing business advertisement), all with attached forums (if applicable), and I am hoping to steer them towards AM if possible. I will weed out the chaff when I see what works and what doesn't. I will keep and concentrate on what does work.

Ergo, I would like some experienced, personal opinions on which Wordpress themes you have chosen that do not require yearly renewal, and why you chose them.

Also, for the record, here are a list of my requirements, but I may be focusing on the wrong priorities, so your opinions on my requirements list are welcome as well.

Any help is greatly appreciated....I am so, so stuck in a mental freeze right now...I thank you in advance...


MY REQUIREMENTS

-One-time purchase
-Can be used on multiple domains
-Fast loader
-SEO friendly
-Wordpress optimized
-Must have to register with Email to comment, in order to build up a list
-Social media/smartphone friendly


Thank you again in advance.
#meet #requirements #themes or framework #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    Any one you like will do. use different plugins for different purposes.

    I, myself, purchased the theme package from theme-junkie I got the whole package of about 30 themes for around 60 bucks.

    al
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    • Profile picture of the author boobooch5
      Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

      Any one you like will do. use different plugins for different purposes.

      I, myself, purchased the theme package from theme-junkie I got the whole package of about 30 themes for around 60 bucks.

      al
      You haven't had any problems with the functionality of the themes you used?
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  • Profile picture of the author ariesight
    I like StudioPress themes. They are fast, but I'm not sure about the Wow factor you're looking for. I think they aim for simplicity.
    Anyway, I have Essence Pro and I like it. Check them out and maybe you'll find something you like.
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    • Profile picture of the author boobooch5
      Originally Posted by ariesight View Post

      I like StudioPress themes. They are fast, but I'm not sure about the Wow factor you're looking for. I think they aim for simplicity.
      Anyway, I have Essence Pro and I like it. Check them out and maybe you'll find something you like.
      I see it for sale at $130. That seems a tad more than the ones I was looking at. What do you see as the advantage of using this theme?
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      • Profile picture of the author ariesight
        Yes, they're kind of expensive. But you can use it on unlimited sites and they have unlimited support. I was kind of fed up with themes that had limited support.

        If you're looking for a more affordable theme, I've heard that GeneratePress is a good one.
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  • Profile picture of the author lasttours
    i used themeforest themes
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  • Profile picture of the author NetMan
    Hey I'm not sure of what you did not like about DIVI, but considering you positions as a total newbie and everything that you want to accomplish, and considering I'm doing all sorts of web dev online for 20 years or so, I'd strongly recommend that you take a second and much closer look at DIVI. That is your best bet right now sure...

    Cheers!
    Andy
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    • Profile picture of the author boobooch5
      Originally Posted by NetMan View Post

      Hey I'm not sure of what you did not like about DIVI, but considering you positions as a total newbie and everything that you want to accomplish, and considering I'm doing all sorts of web dev online for 20 years or so, I'd strongly recommend that you take a second and much closer look at DIVI. That is your best bet right now sure...

      Cheers!
      Andy
      I will take your advice. It seems like some of the reviews may have been a little older, and there is always the YMMV factor to consider.

      Some of what was said was that a total newbie like myself might have problems unless I had a fairly workable knowledge of HTML. Do you see this as true?

      Keep in mind that I know absolutely nothing about HTML at this point, but plan to learn. In the meantime I need to get up and running fairly quickly.

      Thanks again to everyone for the input.
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      • Profile picture of the author NetMan
        Originally Posted by boobooch5 View Post

        I will take your advice. It seems like some of the reviews may have been a little older, and there is always the YMMV factor to consider.

        Some of what was said was that a total newbie like myself might have problems unless I had a fairly workable knowledge of HTML. Do you see this as true?

        Keep in mind that I know absolutely nothing about HTML at this point, but plan to learn. In the meantime I need to get up and running fairly quickly.

        Thanks again to everyone for the input.
        I see absolutely no problem to using wordpress and DIVI to develop your website even if you know nothing about HTML.

        That said, of course I more than recommend that your learn at least the basic, and CSS as well, because that will make often things easier to understand what you are doing, especially when time WILL come where you need to fix something that does not show up as expected. Truly, it is very simple, more than one can think.

        Btw, the latest update on DIVI, just a few days ago, has rendered it even much faster! Another point, their tech supp is top notch and if you encounter designs glitched they will help you.

        Cheers!
        Andy
        PS: check this out https://css-tricks.com/where-do-you-...l-css-in-2019/
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  • Profile picture of the author Ravi Talwar
    well you can go for any platform, need to know about his plugins and his custom coding
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